Olduvai Gorge

This site, which is also known as the “cradle of mankind”, is named after the Masai word for the wild sisal plant, commonly called Oldupaai. The site was actually first discovered by a German entomologist Professor Kattwinkel who was more interested in the butterflies found in the area and fortuitously found fossil remains. This lead to the later excavation work there that was pioneered by Louis and Mary Leakey in the 1950s, and the later discovery of Australopithecus boisei, also known as “nutcracker man”. He is believed to be 1.7 million years old.